California city proceeds with smart water meter installation

Pleasanton, a City in California will embark on a $7m project to replace 22,000 residential water meters in the city.The smart meters will be installed so that Pleasanton residents will be able to look at their water use in real time, providing them the information to conserve water. [Analysis: California smart water meter landscape]

[quote] The smart meters will send out data about once an hour to a cloud-based computer system, which will then translate the information for users at home

Leonard Olive, assistant director of operation services for Pleasanton, said that the smart meters will send out data about once an hour to a cloud-based computer system, which will then translate the information for users at home.

Smart metered residents will then be able to sign onto their accounts to see how much water they used and compare current usage to consumption patterns to months before or years before on a computer or smart phone.

Olive added that approximately 17,000 to 19,000 will be replaced by March next year. Other water meters will be retrofitted to add on the technology that will also transmit data to the cloud, so customers can still log onto the system, called SUS, and check their water use.

With the system, customers will also be able to monitor for potential leaks, should there be an abnormal amount of water being consumed.

Smart meters replacement plan

The Economic Times states that the Pleasanton City Council made meter replacement a priority in 2013, and states that the installation of smart meters would have been helpful when drought restrictions last year forced residents to limit water use or face fines. However, the city became focused instead, on last year's severe drought. [US city enhances water management with Itron deal]

Olive said that he was staffing a call centre that dealt with residents’ grievances over water restrictions.

He concluded that while the drought had delayed installation of the smart meters, having had wetter winter, the city was able to get the meter replacements up and running.